ROYAL PALM BEACH | The next No One Buried Alone memorial service will be Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 11 a.m. at Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery, 10941 Southern Blvd. in Royal Palm Beach, marking the 15th anniversary of the mission dedicated to ensuring that no one is buried without dignity, prayer and human presence.
The service will recall the passing of Victoria Scalia, the 100-year-old patient whose death inspired Father Gabriel Ghanoum to found No One Buried Alone in 2011. Deeply moved by the thought that someone could leave this world without the comfort of family, prayer or human presence, Father Ghanoum created NOBA as a way to ensure dignity in death for the unclaimed and forgotten.
In a meaningful tribute to that moment of origin, the service will honor 100 unclaimed departed individuals, a symbolic reflection of Scalia’s 100 years of life, while commemorating 15 years of compassionate service, remembrance and mercy. NOBA serves individuals who, at the time of their death, have no known family or loved ones to claim them or arrange for burial. In such cases, Father Ghanoum assumes responsibility, ensuring each life is honored and entrusted to a dignified final resting place.
Since its founding, the ministry has provided burial for more than 2,300 individuals, including children (more than 100 infants) and adults of all ages, races and religious backgrounds. An ecumenical ministry, NOBA serves the deceased regardless of faith, affirming that dignity does not end with death.
Each memorial service stands as a quiet but profound act of recognition, bearing witness to lives that may have otherwise gone unacknowledged. The ministry was born from a simple but deeply human question: what happens when someone dies alone? For Father Ghanoum, the answer has become a lifelong commitment.
“I don’t know their stories or what they endured. Everyone focuses on what’s wrong with them, but few stop to ask what happened to them. They make me a better human being. I claim them and, through this ministry, we entrust them to the loving mercy of God,” he said.
The ministry operates in partnership with the Diocese of Palm Beach, Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery and the Palm Beach County Department of Human Services, and is supported entirely through the generosity of donors. Members of the community are invited to the service to participate in the act of remembrance.
To support the cemetery and No One Buried Alone ministry, visit https://ourqueen.org/no-one-buried-alone/.
